The Best Day of My Life
by SMK KMS
Summary: No plot-just a whole lot of Lee's thoughts on his ever-changing life.


Disclaimers: The characters in this story are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. I make no money from these characters; I simply like to share their world for a short time.

A/N No real plot . . . just Lee's thoughts on some of the momentous days in his life. Hope you enjoy! (Constructive reviews are always welcome.) A special thanks to Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson—as well as the rest of the cast—for portraying these characters so wonderfully.

September 26, 1982

Lee closed the apartment door behind him with a contented sigh and a huge smile on his face. He and Randi had just shared . . . well . . . the thought of what they had just shared made even the mighty Scarecrow blush.

Not that he was a "kiss and tell" kind of guy, but a little bragging to Eric tomorrow just might be in order.

After all, this had quite possibly been the best day of his life!

October 3, 1983

Whew, that had been a close one. He couldn't believe his luck. First, he had outrun those two goons for the entire evening—no small feat. Then he had been lucky enough to find someone willing to take the damn package and get on the train. Sure, the goons had caught up to him, but what were a few bumps and bruises when the package was safely being passed to his contact on the train, right? He was sure Billy would be happy that the information had been passed on, even if his methods had been unorthodox.

The Scarecrow still had it, despite what the rumors flying around the bullpen implied. It had been pretty rough since the death of his partner, but he was slowly realizing that he needed to let go of those memories.

Anyway . . . Eric would have been proud of him; what an adrenaline rush! This could potentially be the best day of his life!

January 16, 1984

It was, indeed, over! What a relief to finally admit it. While he had believed Eva was dead, there was still that voice in the back of his head telling him that he had quite possibly missed out on the best thing in his life. After all, he had never felt about someone the way he felt about Eva. When she had announced that she was marrying Angelo . . . well . . . he could be the better man, right?

But what he had thought was love continued to haunt him, even after her supposed death.

Now, however, he was free from those ghosts. He was free to find a new, better version of love . . . one that didn't want to try and kill him!

This might just be the best day of his life!

February 27, 1984

How he wished he had never heard of Savior! It was supposed to be an easy deception. Switch out a dummy bomb for the real thing. But then the bad guys had switched it back. Then Amanda was added to the mix. And when Amanda was involved, things were bound to get hairy.

Why did she have to care so much about him, hmmm? It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself. After all, he had been doing so for thirty years. Although he had to admit, she was a big help when the bomb was about to go off. Without that BOMBERS pin . . . well . . . let's just say he was extremely glad to be alive.

Wow . . . he was alive . . . and the bad guys had been stopped . . . again.

It had been, quite possibly, the best day of his life.

December 10, 1984

Unbelievable! The blue wire, huh? He would have picked one of the others. Luckily he had learned to trust Amanda's instincts; he just wished she hadn't told him her convoluted dishwasher reasoning. Oh well, it worked. Washington and its surrounding communities had avoided being turned into a nuclear wasteland . . . the _how_ really didn't matter, did it?

He and millions of others were still living and breathing, and the Soviets had been neutralized. There might even be a Presidential citation in this for him. Not that it was necessary, but it certainly would make it harder for Billy to turn down his next request for a raise. Now that was a win/win situation no matter how you looked at it.

Disarming that nuclear bomb just might have been the best day of his life.

January 7, 1985

Lee Stetson . . . a married man . . . he never would have thought it possible. Of course, it wasn't actually possible; he had given false information on the license after all. But he had to admit, the thought of marriage didn't send him screaming into the night like it would have a few years ago.

Just what had changed? Was Amanda rubbing off on him? No . . . she was rapidly becoming his best friend, but there was no way he would ever settle down—especially with a divorced mother of two. But the idea of settling down was beginning to gain some appeal. And the kiss they had shared after the minister had pronounced them husband and wife . . .

Hmmm . . . this might not have been the best day of his life, but it certainly ranked in the top ten and had given him some new things to think about!

September 30, 1985

Dorothy's killer finally brought to justice. He realized now that, while he and Dorothy had shared something special, it wasn't really love. They had both been too young. But she was a great friend and colleague . . . and no one deserved to die that way.

Any day in which the bad guys were stopped was definitely one of the best days of his life.

October 7, 1985

Just what was he thinking? While Leslie was a terrific lady . . . and _normal_ . . . she wasn't what he was looking for at all. She was just a poor imitation of what he really wanted—Amanda.

Although he had known that for a long time, he was finally willing and able to admit it to himself. Now, just maybe, he could get the nerve to admit it to her.

What a wonderful feeling. This just might be the best day of his life.

November 4, 1985

"Not exactly." Just what the hell did that mean?

True, they had shared a harrowing night on the run from Sacker's men. True, they had almost shared a kiss. True, he had trotted out his standard denial speech.

Wait a minute . . . did those two words mean that she wanted him too?

Wow, this quite possibly was the best day of his life.

March 31, 1986

He had finally done it . . . he had finally given Amanda a kiss that wasn't part of some crazy cover. Granted, it was nothing more than a quick peck on the lips, but he knew it could have been so much more if Dotty and the boys hadn't come home early to interrupt them.

He could tell that Amanda was pleased that he was finally making a move. He felt like a silly school boy with his first crush; he just couldn't keep the grin off his face.

This certainly felt like the best day of his life.

May 12, 1986

He had finally done it . . . had finally taken fate by the horns, so to speak. Or was it that he had changed fate by turning the lock on the Q Bureau door? Fate had certainly tried its best to keep him from kissing his lovely partner. But not anymore.

That kiss . . . and the dozens more they had shared that afternoon and evening . . . he didn't even know where to start. It felt as if he head were about to explode. After all this time . . . after all their near misses and interrupted moments . . . he just couldn't believe that they were both on the same page.

The best day of his life so far? Hell yes!

September 19, 1986

He had never been in this much trouble before . . . never. Sure, he had driven his uncle crazy with his teenage stunts. And he had had some serious scrapes during his years with the Agency. Nothing, however, compared to being branded a traitor by his own colleagues.

Now he and Amanda were on the run; they had spent the night in a cardboard box under the freeway. While he knew it could indeed get worse, he refused to let his mind go there . . . at least not yet.

And why wouldn't he let his mind go there? Because without Makarov, he might never have worked up the nerve to tell Amanda that he loved her. To find out that she loved him, too, was so much more than he ever had hoped.

While their situation was dire, it still was the best day of his life.

October 31, 1986

What was it with him and dire situations, anyway? He really had given some thought to the proposal; after all, he had purchased the ring over a month ago. They had just been so busy that he had been unable to make the arrangements for a romantic dinner, candlelight, and dancing. At least that's how he had planned on proposing.

So what did he do instead? He had popped the question while they were both being held captive by one of the most ruthless men out there.

But in the end, the _where_ of the proposal hadn't made a bit of difference. He had asked, and she had said yes.

It sure seemed like this was the best day of his life!

February 6, 1987

Unbelievable! If it weren't for Amanda's insistence that he see the doctor, he could have single-handedly wiped out most of the United States intelligence community. Worse than that, though, would have been his untimely death if the antidote hadn't been found.

Not that he cared so much about his own life . . . although he couldn't help but smile at the thought of the future with his beautiful Amanda by his side. No . . . it was the thought of the pain his Amanda would have had to endure. Since her mother and the boys didn't know about him, she would have been left to grieve alone. Sure, Billy and Francine would have been some comfort, but even they didn't know the extent of their relationship. How could he have put her through such pain?

But, yet again, fate had been on his side—along with Billy, Francine, Amanda, and the entire Agency medical team.

What had begun as the worst day of his life had, incredibly, turned into the best one so far—he was alive and would marry his beautiful Amanda in a week!

February 13, 1987

As they waited in frustration for the maid to complete the finishing touches on their honeymoon suite, his thoughts couldn't help but turn to the vows they had so recently exchanged. He had promised himself to Amanda, and she to him. While none of their friends or family had witnessed the exchange, he and Amanda had been each other's witness . . . and nothing—repeat nothing—was going to interfere with their keeping those vows. She was his . . . just as he was hers.

This was, without question, the best day of his life.

October 29, 1987

One little slipup, that was all it took. Just one time they had forgotten to take their rings off before heading to work. First Mrs. Marston, then Billy, then Francine had noticed. . . well, they did work for an _intelligence_ agency after all. But while everyone was good at keeping secrets of the national security kind, apparently their marriage secret was just the kind that needed to be spread—at least Francine thought so.

Since the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, at work, they had also come clean to Dotty and the boys. While they had been upset at the secrecy, all three were overjoyed to know that he and Amanda were finally ready to settle down.

Looking back at the day, he could honestly say that he didn't regret a thing. He was tired of going home, alone, every evening. He was tired of sneaking kisses in the Q Bureau at work. Everyone finally knew that he was a married man—something he had wanted to shout from the rooftops since that day in February.

The best day of his life? You bet!

December 25, 1987

He still got tears in his eyes when he thought about it . . . and would for weeks to come he was sure.

After all the presents had been opened, Dotty and the boys had gone to retrieve one more special gift from behind the couch. With hesitation, they had given it to him, then stepped back with just a little apprehension to watch him open it. He had quickly glanced at his wife, but she had simply shrugged her shoulders.

It contained a coffee mug inscribed with "World's Best Dad" and a framed poem entitled "To My Son." The accompanying card contained some very personal requests from all three. The boys wanted to call him _Dad_! Dotty wanted to refer to him as her son and, while she knew she would never replace his mother, she hoped he would begin to call her _Mom_!

All he could do was smile through his tears and give all three a huge hug. Words just wouldn't form. But that was alright; words weren't needed.

It had truly been the best day of his life.

November 22, 1988

As he stared down at the tiny bundle in his arms, tears began to form in his eyes. One look at his beautiful but exhausted wife and the tears rolled down his cheeks freely.

Dotty and the boys quietly entered the hospital room, gathering around the proud parents.

How could he have ever thought any of those previous days were the " _best_ "? Nothing compared to this feeling of utter contentment . . . this feeling of belonging . . . this feeling of love.

Finally, he had truly experienced the best day of his life. Nothing, and he meant absolutely nothing, could top this!


End file.
